Archive for the ‘entertainment’ tag

“The New York City-based Dentsu Aegis-owned agency is pumping up support of work-life balance in its offices with a new employee-targeted program called Get A Life. Staffers are given $500 to spend on their own personal development—whether it be surf lessons, a gym membership or an academic course or class. The agency “feels that supporting our folks outside the office and encouraging them to try new things is imperative.” Beefing up its b-to-b offerings as b-to-c clients have asked for some of MKTG’s “special sauce” to plus-up their business events.”

Thanks to everyone at MKTG, our amazing clients and partners for helping make this happen. #MyMKTG

We are thrilled to be included on Event Marketer Magazine’s Annual “IT LIST” of the top agencies in the US. Many thanks to the team at EM for your hard work on pulling this together and kudos to our MKTG family for all of your hard work and dedication to each other, our clients and partners and your commitment to being the best of the best! Check it out here.

Background from the editors of Event Marketer:

With hundreds of applications, it was no easy task to select the agencies featured in this year’s 15th annual It List.

As we pored over the applications, we were struck by a number of facts. First, our industry is growing, as evidenced by the increases in head count, office spaces and new business wins mentioned in so many applications. Then, there is the inordinate amount of time and resources devoted to staying on top of trends as agencies invest in new technologies and equipment, especially digital interactives. And of course, there are the people themselves, those tireless engines who know no bounds when it comes to creativity, strategy and know-how in order to deliver top-notch experiences for some of the most demanding clients ever. The work this year was outstanding.

It’s why our editorial team read, analyzed and scored each and every entry on a number of stringent criteria. Our top consideration: the percentage of agency work devoted exclusively to events. In an era of explosive growth, we recognized that there are a lot of shops out there with a sudden “expertise” in experiential, and so we were dead serious about checking their bonafides.

Then, we looked at the quality of the work, the creativity, the agency’s industry reputation and, of course, how well each agency had backed up its claims. It was as exciting to read updates on the veterans as it was to comb through the capabilities of the new kids on the block. And we weighed each in equal measure.

The one thing all of the agencies that made our list have in common? They are never satisfied with the status quo. They push toward goals they never thought achievable, burning the midnight oil to get every detail right. They’re the ones brands rely on to deliver unforgettable b-to-c and b-to-b experiences that forge lasting connections with consumers, colleagues and stakeholders. They’ve earned their place on our 15th annual It List and we take our hats off to each and every one of them.

Domino Records devises bespoke campaigns on social media for its roster of artists including Hot Chip

A combination of streaming and social is disrupting the album release cycle and dramatically altering the way music comes to market. In the second part of Marketing Week’s focus on music marketing we look at the pioneering ways artists and labels are meeting consumers’ always-on demands.

To state the obvious, social media and streaming platforms have permanently altered the way we listen to music – but it finally seems like artist marketing is catching up.

Many musicians (OneRepublic, Frank Ocean, John Mayer, and Drake to name a few) have abandoned the typical album release and press cycle to take matters into their own hands, signing exclusive streaming deals, teasing new music on Snapchat, and even skipping the album format entirely. The industry has been slow to accept streaming’s impending dominance, but stands to profit the most from it. Why? Data. Streaming provides intricate details about how and who interacts with an artist’s music – which is the most powerful marketing tool of all. Brands also stand to reap huge rewards from the upheaval of the industry: Heineken and Victoria’s Secret have both seen success in teaming up with musicians for digital single releases, opening up a new way for brands to cash in on the new streaming era.

Rihanna and Lupita N’yongo attend a Miu Miu show in Paris in March 2014. Some pictures are worth a thousand words. This one, it turns out, was worth a movie deal. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The internet has given fans the platform to communicate and connect with each other like never before, and now it has once again changed the game by giving fans the opportunity to will a film project into existence.

In 2014, a Tumblr post of Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o sitting next to each other at a Miu Miu fashion show went viral. Two years later the post reappeared, sweeping the internet once again – this time, however, on Twitter with the idea of a buddy movie starring Rihanna as a con artist scamming men, supported by her best friend and tech whiz, “played” by N’yongo. N’yongo tweeted out that she was game, starting a domino effect. Rihanna agreed to join her, and now thanks to additional twitter suggestions from fans, Ava DuVernay will direct the Issa Rae-written film, which is set to be distributed on Netflix. A timeline has not been released, but Entertainment Weekly announced the project was solidified at Cannes, and Rae’s representatives confirmed the story.

Dentsu Aegis Network Sport & Entertainment won two prestigious European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Excellence Awards on Thursday 11 February, 2016 at the annual European Sponsorship Association awards ceremony, held at the Café de Paris in London. The Awards celebrate successful sponsorship campaigns in all sectors – sport, culture, entertainment, media, community and corporate responsibility.

Their long standing work with British Gas’ ‘Sponsorship of British Swimming’ was awarded the coveted title of ‘Sport Sponsorship of the Year’. British Gas’ ‘Sponsorship of British Swimming’ was duly recognised for a fantastic sponsorship that has spaned six years since 2009. Along the journey British Gas helped over 100,000 children to swim, provided 1.5 million free swims and supported elite athletes on the world stage.

Dentsu Aegis Network also added to this sporting success with a ground-breaking win in the music space which shows the true breadth of DAN’s offering in Sport & Entertainment.

Working in partnership with The Story Lab UK, their work for Microsoft Lumia was awarded the top prize in the ‘Multi National’ category following a comprehensive judging process that evaluated sponsorship campaign entries from across Europe.

Their work for Microsoft was focused on driving the perception of Lumia being seen as a creative brand to a cultural relevant audience across six key European markets.

Clean Bandit, a band on the rise and with global appeal, were looking for help on their next music video. They spotted a perfect opportunity to build the phone and all its capabilities into their creative process. The music video went on to be Clean Bandit’s most successful launch to date and it can be viewed here! Skip to end to see their three part ‘making of’ documentary showing how we made it all happen.

David Peters, Managing Director Dentsu Aegis Network Sport & Entertainment UK said of the wins: ‘An ESA Excellence Award represents the industry ‘gold standard’ and it is a fantastic recognition of the best-in-class sponsorship campaigns that we deliver for our clients across Sport & Entertainment’.

Every summer, we in Atlanta partake in one of our most anticipated days of the year – FUNN DAY! (So much Fun we added another N). This annual office outing has taken on many forms both on land and on water. The various activities have always been part of FUNN Day’s uniqueness and charm.

This year we headed to the brand new TopGolf Atlanta Midtown – the second such facility in the metro area. TopGolf has become a wildly popular social golf entertainment center with locations popping up all over the country at a seemingly rapid rate – and we got to see why, first hand, how it can produce a memorable office outing. As they put it: Just picture a larger-than-life-sized outdoor dartboard – but for golf. And for a little friendly rivalry, the high-tech balls instantly score each shot’s accuracy and distance.

Everyone split into the various stations we had reserved and then the competition was on! With six players per hitting bay and some rounds of cold beverages on a warm summer day, everyone had a great time away from the office. Check out the pictures of our FUNN event and we encourage you to get out of the office when you can!

The annual SXSW festival presents a unique cross section of emerging technology, digital media and entertainment. Through a diverse set of events, Yahoo’s Brazos Hall was a representation of the many dimensions of SXSW and Yahoo. With 8 days of events that included tech talks, comedy shows and music concerts, Yahoo partnered with MKTG INC to become a daily habit for festival-goers.

To kick off interactive, Yahoo Sports hosted a day full of college basketball games, sports trivia and a beer pong tournament. On Sunday, Yahoo Tech editor David Pogue launched his Tech Mix series and included discussions with influencers such as Biz Stone and Brandon Stanton, among others. Other daytime events included recruiting sessions and panels from the Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports teams. At night, Yahoo’s Brazos Hall was transformed for comedy showcases, featuring notable comedians such as Tim Meadows, Jeffrey Tambor, T.J. Miller and Adam Pally.

Over the final 5 days of SXSW, Yahoo’s Brazos Hall played host to many top performers. Headlining Tuesday, March 11 was Hey Marseilles, followed by Big Sean and Pusha T in the G.O.O.D Music Showcase on Wednesday night. Blondie and the Foxboro Hot Tubs (aka Green Day) stole the show Thursday and Friday before 2Chainz and B.O.B. wrapped up an incredible week of performances with their Saturday show.

During the day guests were treated to an intimate environment where they could sit in on live acoustic recordings from up-and-coming and established artists such as Spandau Ballet and Mary Lambert as part of Yahoo Music’s Up Close on Yahoo Screen. Outside of Brazos, Yahoo’s fun purple-branded Barcycle made its way around Austin, giving out purple popsicles and mustaches to SXSW attendees. This activation drew a considerable amount of buzz across social medial platforms, with #yodel as the rallying cry for Yahoo’s week at SXSW.

In what was a success for both Yahoo and MKTG INC, Brazos Hall became a must-see space within SXSW that represented Yahoo’s innovations. We look forward to partnering with Yahoo again to continue the innovation!

On October 1, 2012 the annual OMMA Awards will return to New York for its seventh annual celebration of the industry’s finest talents and campaigns. That being said, it’s no wonder MKTG INC’s production for CBS Interactive at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego made it as a finalist for the Entertainment Award for our CNET Bast Station. The spot offered pampering for true superheroes, including food and drinks on the house, hot new video games (Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman Absolution), Prize Pow-looza with drawings throughout the day for gaming systems, tablets and more, charging stations and laptops.

After all, you don’t need to be a superhero to get superhero treatment!

It’s finally November and I think we all know what that means: Harry Potter! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 hits theaters on the 19th and Muggles everywhere are counting the days until they can don their wizarding robes and witness the first of the last of the epic series.